P&G, Teva enter partnership

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will bring their over-the-counter product lines and capabilities together in a deal they expect to be completed this fall.

P&G and Teva announced Thursday a new partnership that will combine P&G’s brand building, innovation and marketing capabilities with Teva’s geographic reach, research and development capabilities, regulatory and manufacturing experience and product portfolio. The partnership will include a joint venture combining Teva’s and P&G’s OTC businesses in all markets outside North America — markets that generated sales of more than $1 billion last year.

Both companies stand to benefit considerably, with Teva seeing an expansion to its OTC product offerings and to its position with major pharmacy customers worldwide, and P&G seeing accelerated expansion of such iconic brands as Vicks, Metamucil and Pepto-Bismol. The companies also hope to take advantage of Rx-to-OTC switches and market the resulting products in markets around the world, including North America.

“This unique partnership positions P&G and Teva to be a leading player in the consumer healthcare industry,” P&G chairman, president and CEO Bob McDonald said. “This is a remarkable opportunity to accelerate growth for both companies’ OTC businesses. Together, we will serve more consumers in more parts of the world more completely by increasing access to high-quality, affordable over-the-counter medicines.”

Teva, based in Jerusalem, currently is the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, and is one of the world’s largest drug makers overall. “We are extremely pleased to be joining forces with Procter & Gamble, the world leader in brand building and innovative go-to-market capabilities,” Teva president and CEO Shlomo Yanai said. “This partnership will create value by immediately expanding the number of channels and geographies in which each company’s OTC products will be sold. Together, we will develop a new platform with the potential to reshape the entire global OTC market.”